All posts filed under: Arts

Photographs of the author/photographer invite the reader to visit the author at his home and studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There he describes the process of writing and putting together the photographs for a children’s book.

Three children follow their heritages through the music they play. Janira dances and her brother plays flamenco, Jovita sings and plays with a mariachi band, and Juan Julian follows in the footsteps of his father and older brother playing percussion with Salsa.

A book of murals from the cave paintings; to colonial church murals; to the masterpieces of Diego Rivera, Orozco and other Mexican masters; to the singing walls in American cities; and graffiti. Communities express their cultures, issues, and histories on their neighborhood walls.

Craftsman use a variety of materials to create images and forms that express the artistry of a people. Stone carvings have decorated the ancient pyramids and the baroque cathedrals. Wood has been carved into utilitarian utensils, carvings, masks and furniture. Metal has been shaped into statues and filigree jewelry. Weaving has produced fabric, hammocks, and rugs. Embroidery decorates clothing. Clay become tiles, pottery and figurines. Straw is woven into utilitarian baskets and toys. And paper becomes skeletons, puppets, and piñatas.

We meet Caren whose family makes the fireworks that the town explodes to celebrate their patron saint. At their workshop on the outskirts of town her father, uncle, and grandfather build toritos, bulls that are made of Papier-mâché and painted. Then they are covered with fireworks. Castles of fireworks are built in the town plaza and that night after the procession the fireworks light up the town as rockets are shot into the night sky exploding with color flowers of fire.

A small simple book with one-line texts beneath the pictures showing George Ancona making a piñata with a boy and girl. Then of course the breaking of the piñata by a group of children who then scramble for the goodies.

In Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, little Alicia Histia follows in the footsteps of her parents and pueblo ancestors. Working alongside her mother she is creates pots and clay animals. She joins her grandmother to make bread that she bakes in an outdoor oven. On feast days she dons her traditional dress and dances behind her mother.

For more than one hundred years, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has been under construction. Workers from Indiana to New York, from France to Nigeria, have contributed their abilities and labor and time, decade after decade. And although the cathedral is still unfinished, services are held there, festivals are celebrated, and the helpless and homeless are fed, clothed, and befriended within its walls.

Don Ricardo, or Tío Rico as the children call him, is the piñata maker of a village in southern Mexico. Now seventy-seven years old, Tío Rico has been making elaborate and beautiful piñatas for fifteen years. He brings great joy to children with his magical puppets, masks and piñatas–and of course, he gets invited to nearly all the parties.

A guidebook for the first time photographer that clearly shows how to get the best results from a simple camera. MY CAMERA demonstrates the basics of picture taking and suggests projects to try. Abundant color photographs show a simple camera in use alongside examples of the results children can obtain.